Vettel extends contract at Red Bull through 20011

VALENCIA, Spain 
Red Bull has moved to head off Ferrari and other Formula One teams by extending Sebastian Vettel's contract to the end of the 2011 season.

Red Bull announced the new deal Friday, with the fresh contract replacing the previous one which tied the 22-year-old German to the team until the end of 2010. The new contract includes an option for the 2012 season.

The move will go some way to quelling speculation about Vettel's future, with Ferrari figuring prominently in rumors about the German, as it does in connection with nearly all leading drivers.

Earlier this year, F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone said he was sure Vettel would move to Ferrari.

Ferrari's current drivers, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, are both under contract to the end of 2010, though Raikkonen has begun dabbling in top-level rally driving and Massa is recovering from a life-threatening crash at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Red Bull's announcement came a month after the team extended its contract with Australian driver Mark Webber to the end of 2010.

Webber is currently second in the drivers' championship and Vettel third behind leader Jenson Button of Brawn GP.

Vettel first raced in F1 with the Toro Rosso team in 2007, spending two seasons there and winning his first race before moving to Red Bull this season, replacing the retired David Coulthard.